It was 3285 pounds of co-branding and moist-palm imagination. This is the car that WON. This is the car that survived the first movie. This is the car that scored, lost its virginity before prom night, and proved its teacher wrong in Algebra.

You care about the fourth generation Supra because it runs on hype as much as gasoline.

There was this one time I was guest-judging a car show in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. A black Mk4 Supra parked between a glitter and sticker-bombed Lexus and a primer-black Honda Accord from the early 2000s. The Supra had fake three-piece wheels and a carbon fiber inlay dash. The muffler was eBay-fresh and the seats oozed Armor-All.

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A college sophomore stiffly stood facing the Supra's nose like a 90's version of myself seeing Virtual Racing for the first time at Jilly's Arcade in Ocean City, New Jersey.

Chad and Eric come over. I'm standing one row over, watching from behind a stack of judging forms. The Supra fanboy, with his XXL shirt hanging blouse-like over his 150 pound frame, launched into a boastful narrative to Chad and Eric.

"This was the fastest car in Japan! You could chip it and it was faster than the [Dodge] Viper! And it has a drag coefficient of almost nothing and it sucks itself down like an Indy Car!" exuded the excited youth, "I can't believe one is here!"

"Uh huh," said Chad.

"Cool," said Eric.

Driving a stock 4th generation Supra in real world traffic is similar to driving a V6 SN-95 Mustang. That's a harsh comparison and, right now, someone is reading this on the toilet. Listen, your bathroom break is about to drift past that critical 4:10 minute mark where your supervisor starts wondering where you are. Use the angry energy I gave you to clean-up and get back to work.

Yes, under everyday engine load, a fourth generation Supra feels like a V6 Mustang. The engine note goes "zzzzzzzz" like a backpack zipper. There is some torque but not as much as you would want. The difference comes with the turbos and open roads.

The Supra's second turbo is the problem because, like the Honda 9000 RPM red line, it puts the car's performance out of reach for everyday commuting use. You need a long enough road, free from traffic, vigilante citizens, police, children, and houses. The 2JZ-GTE's second turbo does not snap-on its boost. We are used to 2015 forced induction where modern tuning allows boost to crash aggressively, delighting drivers and spooking passengers. This doesn't happen with a Mk4 Supra's mystical second turbo; it has the understanding and distant demeanor of a male guidance councilor.

A stock Supra's boost will come, eventually. The owner of this white Supra told me that when the second turbo kicks in, you will need a lot of road. Off camera, I mashed my foot down in second gear, and here's what happened:

2000 rpm: Slow Steady acceleration, like a Toyota Camry. No turbo feelings yet. The small turbo is doing all the work, slowly feeding pressure to the larger turbo as the RPM's ride. Supra still feels like a N/A car.

3000 rpm: Quiet whooshing noise. Tire noise is louder. We are still accelerating like a naturally aspirated I6. If I didn't know this Supra was a Twin Turbo, I wouldn't be a able to tell.

4000 rpm: Linear rise in acceleration speed. Engine feels like a V8 now. Horsepower feels double. Telephone poles passing faster. Buzzing vibration coming though steering wheel. Turbo is whoosing like an approaching subway train. I am excited. A renews man. The rise in power makes me feel like the kind of man who CAN use pickup lines. I am going fast enough to need a lawyer if caught.

5000 rpm: Exponential rise in acceleration speed. Front of the car bucks assertively. Wave of fear in me that I am not fully in-control. Main turbo is whooshing like a cresting wave you're failing to ride. Faster.

5500 rpm: Acceleration doubles. The turbo is now the lousiest instrument in this Japanese ska-band. My speed is "reckless endangerment." Nearing the rev-limiter. Childhood fear. I'm going to crash. Kevin, the owner, is smiling. I am cringing. I back off.

Traffic up ahead gave me a socially acceptable reason to pull over into a dry-cleaning and food service strip mall in Culver City, and ask Kevin, the owner, to drive from here on out. Not only is a stock Supra way too fast once you hit the hidden power at 5000 rpm, it's way too expensive. Traffic could scratch this pearl investment up right-quick and I sure as squirt ain't going to be the one responsible. How much do untouched stock fourth gen Supras cost? About $35,000 USD. That's what the fresh ones like Kevin's are now, at the high end.

Most Supras got tortured after the 2001 kung-fu-chop-shifting F&F move. Sadistic chips, boost controllers, catback crap, and meathead drivers ruined Supras with no remorse. It was as if Supras were as plentiful as Nissan S13s. They are not, they were scarce to begin with and now stock examples are even more so. When you find mint low-mileage ones like Kevin's, you're going to pay.

If you want a stock fourth gen Supra and you fear the price will get too high before you're able to start saving for one, fear not. The soon-to-be-legal Nissan R34 Skyline will draw the deep-pocketed pick-up artists away from Toyota. You still have time, but start saving soon. Mark my words: We will see untouched stock Supras like this reach the $50,000 mark.